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Gridlock: And the winner is you?

Thanks to gridlock and midterm politics, 2014 may turn out to be a good year
(remember, all things are relative) for federal and postal workers. Just recall
what your civil-service psyche has been through the last few years. So what's
good about gridlock and political fever?

Most members of the House and a third in the Senate are concerned about
getting re-elected this fall. Republicans want to keep control of and expand
their numbers in the House.

Being in the majority means more political clout and sometimes a better
office to work from and more taxpayer-supplied creature comforts.

Democrats are battling to retain their majority in the Senate. Many
members of both parties are equally determined not to cooperate with the other
side.

While the media, good-government groups and some members of Congress
decry the situation, it can be a good thing if you are a frequent and favorite
target of Congress. That group — known as the usual suspects — nearly
always includes the federal workforce. Sometimes they are the primary target for
benefit cuts, pay freezes (most recently a three-year drought) or of token raises
such as the 1 percent slated for Jan. 1. A shrinking group of pro-fed members of
Congress has proposed a 3.3 percent raise, but its chances of being approved are
slim to none. The pay-raise parity movement, to give civilian and military
personnel the same percentage increase, is also probably going nowhere.

Welcome to what could, soon, become the good old days.

No matter who controls Congress after the next election, it's a good
bet that next year will be busier and less pleasant for the federal family.

Congress and the White House are expected to resume efforts to switch to
a different formula for determining living costs for retirees, so that future
raises for people who get Social Security, federal or military retirement will be
reduced. Jessica Klement of the National Active and Retired Federal
Employees (NARFE) Association says moving from the current system to the so-called
"chained CPI" would reduce each future retiree COLA by about 0.3 percent. While
that's not much on an annual basis, she said that for the average CSRS retiree
(getting $32,000 per year) it would amount to a $50,000 loss over a 25-year
period. The Congressional Budget Office scored it as a $162 billion savings over
a 10-year period.

Congress next year may also look at reducing retirement benefits for
people retiring in the future. That could be accomplished by basing annuities on
the employee's highest five-year average salary. They are now figured on the
"high-three" formula. While the reduction to individuals would be slight, backers
estimate the slight change would save taxpayers (and cost retirees) just over $6
billion over the next eight to 10 years.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

The game of darts is one of the top three most popular sports in the British territory of Gibraltar. Home to about 30,000 people and a very famous mountain outcropping, Gibraltar bested Turkey, France and Italy to win the Mediterranean Cup of darts in 2010.

Where are the flags for fallen feds?
Congress unanimously passed the Civilian Service Recognition Act in late 2011,
allowing agency heads to present an American flag to federal employees killed in
the line of duty as the result of a crime, terrorism or natural disaster. But OPM
has lagged in implementing regulations.

Senate bill doubles spending on
veterans' health
Spending on veterans' health care could double in three years under the Senate's
solution to the long waits experienced by thousands seeking medical care at VA
hospitals and clinics, according to congressional budget experts.